On March 17, 2025, Tbilisi City Court held a hearing in the case of Publika reporter Aleksandre Keshelashvili. He had been charged with disobeying police orders; the court issued him a verbal warning.
Keshelashvili was covering a pro-European protest on November 29 of the previous year when police used force to detain and physically assault him. That same night, he was hospitalized with multiple injuries and underwent emergency surgery; he had sustained fractures to his facial bones.
In December, the Publika reporter filed a complaint with the Special Investigation Service, requesting an investigation into the physical violence used against him while performing his professional duties. Despite being officially recognized as a victim in that case, the court still delivered a guilty verdict today and issued him a verbal warning for disobeying police orders.
On March 18, 2025, Batumi City Court Judge Salikh Shainidze found Mzia Amaglobeli, co-founder and director of Netgazeti and Batumelebi, guilty of a misdemeanor and fined her 2,000 GEL for placing a sticker on a police building.
Mzia Amaglobeli was arrested twice during the night of January 11–12, 2025. She was first detained for posting a sticker on the police building that read: “Georgia goes on strike.” She was released a few hours later on a written pledge. However, shortly after her release, she was arrested again — this time on criminal charges — for allegedly slapping police chief Irakli Dgebuadze.
She remains in pre-trial detention in connection with the criminal case. Her detention is being closely monitored not only by local NGOs but also by prominent international organizations.
On March 19, 2025, Judge Tamar Makharoblidze of Tbilisi City Court ordered TV Pirveli journalists Mariam Gaprindashvili and Nanuka Kajaia to leave the courtroom.
The judge made this decision after the journalists inquired why they had not been granted permission to photograph the proceedings — a request they had submitted officially and in accordance with the law.
“The judge did not allow the journalists to finish speaking, told them they were not parties to the case and therefore had no right to speak. She first issued them a warning, and then expelled them from the courtroom,” according to a report by Radio Liberty.
The court session was related to a deliberate murder case that occurred on March 15 on Ilia Chavchavadze Avenue.
On April 28, 2025, Batumi City Court ruled to keep Mzia Amaghlobeli, founder of the online outlets Batumelebi and Netgazeti, in pretrial detention. The decision was announced by Judge Nino Sakhelashvili.
As a reminder, Mzia Amaghlobeli was initially detained under administrative charges on January 11 of this year and, just hours later on January 12, was charged under criminal law.
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association has filed a complaint with the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg on her behalf.
On April 24, 2025, Publika‘s reporter Mindia Gabadze was removed from a court session.
Judge Davit Tetrauli expelled the journalist from the courtroom for asking a question. Gabadze was covering the trial of businessman Giorgi Chkheidze.
This is not the first time Mindia Gabadze has faced interference while carrying out his professional duties. Previously, unidentified individuals physically assaulted him on Rustaveli Avenue, and nearby police officers failed to respond.
The removal of journalists from courtrooms without any justification is also increasingly being seen as part of a broader, troubling trend.
On April 17, 2025, Indigo journalist Saba Sordia was fined 2,500 GEL by Tbilisi City Court Judge Zviad Tsekvava. The journalist had been charged with disobedience to police.
Saba Sordia was detained on April 6 near Metro Station in Tbilisi. At the time of his arrest, he was not carrying out journalistic duties. According to his lawyer, Mariam Kavelashvili, the journalist was stopped for a “superficial inspection” and, after presenting his ID, was asked to fully open his bag. When Sordia responded that he would open the bag pockets himself, this was interpreted as noncompliance. By that point, the police already knew he was a journalist by profession.
Following his arrest, Saba Sordia spent 48 hours in a pretrial detention facility. He later stated that officers in the patrol car attempted to humiliate him over an earring he was wearing. His work-issued GoPro camera was also confiscated. The first court hearing in his case took place on April 8, and the verdict was announced on April 17.
The Media Advocacy Coalition has called this yet another instance of repressive policies targeting the media.
On May 29, 2025, a high-profile hearing in the case of Giorgi Bachiashvili was scheduled at Tbilisi City Court. The session, presided over by Judge Nana Shamatava, was held in a small courtroom. Despite the high public interest, part of the media was unable to attend the hearing. Some of the defendant’s relatives and family members were also not allowed to be present.
To recall, businessman Giorgi Bachiashvili previously headed the “Partnership Fund,” established by the “Georgian Dream” party and its founder, Bidzina Ivanishvili. Criminal proceedings against him began in 2023. The Georgian justice system accuses him of misappropriating bitcoins valued at 500 million GEL. The investigation is widely known as the “Bitcoin Case.”
The Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association and Transparency International Georgia responded to the court session:
“Organizing the hearing in such a small courtroom for a case of significant public interest violates the principle of public hearings, which is a core component of the right to a fair trial. This is particularly problematic given that the court had a reasonable opportunity to avoid it—at the time the session began, the court’s two largest rooms (Courtroom 1 and Courtroom 2) were available.”
On May 30, 2025, for the third time, journalists were restricted from entering the Tbilisi City Court building with their equipment and carrying out their work. Journalists who did not have prior permission to report from inside the courtroom were not allowed into the building, even though such prior permission is not required for journalists to work outside the courtroom.
Today, the court was reviewing the case of opposition political leader Nika Melia, who is being prosecuted for failing to appear before a parliamentary investigative commission.
According to journalists, correspondents carrying photo and/or video equipment were not allowed to enter the courtroom; only those without any recording gear were permitted to attend the hearing.
The court’s press office said the restrictions were related to security measures:
“Due to security concerns, there are restrictions today. Only media outlets that have been granted access to directly cover the proceedings will be allowed into the court building. We cannot provide any further information.”
On May 30, 2025, Judge Lela Tsagareishvili of the Tbilisi City Court reviewed the case of journalist and TV host Natia Gogsadze and fined her 5,000 GEL, despite the journalist’s claim that she was fulfilling her professional duties and had submitted relevant evidence. Judge Tsagareishvili is on Estonia’s list of sanctioned individuals.
Natia Gogsadze received the notice of the fine back when she was still a host at the TV company “Mtavari Arkhi,” on February 13, 2025. According to the administrative offense report, the Ministry of Internal Affairs accused the journalist of blocking the road during a pro-European protest on February 2, 2025.
Just a few days earlier, on May 23, Judge Zviad Tsekvava also imposed a 5,000 GEL fine on Mariam Kavshbaia, a journalist from the online outlet “Publika.”
Since November 28, 2024, during the period of pro-European protests, publicly available information indicates that there have been more than 35 instances where administrative reports were filed against journalists present at or working during the demonstrations.
On May 31, 2025, the editor-in-chief of the news agency “April,” Khatia Ghoghobersidze, published a post on Facebook stating that she had been fined 5,000 GEL for “blocking the road” while performing her professional duties.
According to the journalist, she was contacted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs on April 4 and was informed about the imposed fine. After Khatia Ghoghobersidze explained to the police that she was engaged in journalistic work during a march and even sent them the material she had prepared about the event, the police requested time to investigate the matter. However, despite her explanations and the submitted evidence, she was issued a formal fine notice.
Khatia Ghoghobersidze plans to take legal action against the Ministry of Internal Affairs. According to publicly available sources, since November 28, 2024, around 35 administrative fines have been issued. Most of these cases are still under review, both by the Ministry and the courts. So far, two journalists have been found guilty by the court and were fined administratively.
